I Cried
by NephilimEQ
Summary: Buffy figures out why she didn't turn to Riley when her mom was in the hospital. A re-posting of one of my previous stories under a different pen-name. PLEASE REVIEW!
1. I Cried

**I Cried**

By E. Quackenbush

_Summary_: Buffy figures out why she didn't go to Riley when her mom got sick.

_Rating_: PG-13 Some sexual connotations, and, of course, some very hot smoochies!

_Spoilers_: None

_Disclaimer_: I do not own any of these characters, though at times I wish...please, Joss, I beg you!

_Author_: E. Quackenbush aka NephilimEQ (previously known as edq-ocd18)

_Author's Notes_: This was inspired by the dialogue below...it sparked a major interest for a story in my head!

* * *

"_You stayed strong throughout. You never even cried." "Oh, I cried. I cried so hard I didn't even think I was going to be able to stop." "Oh..."_

* * *

She couldn't believe it. She just couldn't believe it.

Buffy barely noticed where her feet were taking her as she left the hospital. She knew that Dawn was okay, so she didn't worry about her as she walked through the exit doors. She was so absorbed in her thoughts that she didn't even hear the sound of the doors as they automatically closed behind her.

The sun was just beginning to set, which would mean that she would have to patrol soon...but she knew that she shouldn't. Not when she was this emotionally distressed.

Why was this happening to _her_ mother? And it wasn't even supernatural; nothing for her to fight.

She looked up to find that she was at Giles' door.

Buffy knew that she had to. She raised her hand and knocked on the door, hoping and expecting him to answer. She was not disappointed.

It was only a few moments before the door swung open to reveal a tired looking Rupert Giles. He looked at her in surprise, trying to understand what was going on with his Slayer as she walked into his apartment and sat down on his couch. His mind scanned through the different possibilities, but he came up blank.

He moved from his previous position, closing the door behind him. Something was wrong.

"Buffy?"

She said nothing, merely pulled her legs up in front of her body and he watched as she wrapped her arms around them, hugging them close to her chest.

He slowly approached her, wondering whether or not to put on tea, but decided against it.

As he sat down on the opposite end of the couch, he cast his eyes back towards his Slayer, trying to understand what was going through her mind. That was when he noticed that she had dropped her head to her knees...and her body was shaking. Oh dear lord, she was crying.

He was at a loss of what to do, so he did the only thing that he could think of.

As his arms pulled her towards him, ever so gently, she pulled herself from her position and quickly discovered a new one, this time with her hands on his chest and her head tucked firmly under his chin.

"There, there...I don't know what's wrong, Buffy...but I'm sure that it will work itself out..." He let his voice drift, unsure of what else to say.

She merely cried into his shirt, wetting it with her tears, but he didn't mind in the least. If this was what she needed, then this was what he would do. He had long ago left behind the fanciful notion that she could ever see him as anything else, but in moments like these, his irrational hopes sprang up once more.

She turned in his arms, and he adjusted his body so that she leaned in towards his side, her head on his shoulder.

He said nothing, waiting for her to be the first one to speak. She knotted her hands into the front of his shirt and then suddenly let them loose.

"I'm sorry...I didn't mean to break down like that on you. It's just that..." Her voice drifted, but he let her have her moment to regroup and collect her thoughts. He knew what it was like to be disconnected.

She finally broke the brief silence once more. "Mom is...well, it's not good."

A deep sigh permeated his frame and Buffy enjoyed the feel of his support that he gave so freely. _This_ was what she needed. Not the desperate grasping of hands that thought she might leave them, but the solid arms that asked nothing of her, and expected absolutely nothing in return. True support.

Giles now took the time to collect his own thoughts and then finally spoke. "Oh, Buffy...I'm so sorry. Is there anything that I can do?"

She smiled to herself and burrowed her body closer to his. "You're doing it. Thank you."

He was surprised at her openness, but chalked it up to the fact that she was emotionally vulnerable because of what was happening with her mother.

He held her tightly, but at the same time wondered why she wasn't in the arms of her boyfriend, her lover. The thought danced around in his mind, but soon vanished as he decided to make use of the time that he had with her, even if it was oh so very short. It would be what he needed, too. What he desperately needed and craved...he would imagine that he was holding it in his arms for a brief while.

Buffy wordlessly went through her emotions and feelings in her head, trying to understand why she hadn't turned to Riley.

But the answer to that question immediately sprang into her mind, and she knew that she'd known the whole time why she hadn't turned to him. He wouldn't have held her. He would have grasped her, clung to her.

That's all he ever did. Hold tight to her for himself, as though she were his life preserver...but what he didn't realize was that she was a drowning person too, and she needed her own life preserver. Giles was that person.

She felt his hand run down her back, attempting to comfort her, and she arched into it, needing the reassuring contact.

That was when it hit her.

This was what she'd been looking for...the feeling of completeness. Not just safety or comfort, or passionate distractions...but the feeling of finally finding the place where she fit. Absolutely and completely fit, without any question. That she was where she belonged, and nothing could change that.

She glanced up at his face through her eyelashes, trying not to let him see her stare...and she saw him.

Not just the Watcher or the uptight persona that he had tried to wrap himself in. She saw _him_. For once in her life, she saw Rupert Giles the man; the human being who had his whole life devoted to her, and her to his. She didn't know what she'd do without him.

From where she sat, she stared, amazed.

He was beautiful. His glasses were off, leaving his eyes open to be read by anyone...but very few knew him well enough to do so. She was one of the few. And as she stared, she rediscovered the man that she thought she knew so well.

His face was a thing of beauty as it showed every minute expression that passed across it, no matter how hard he tried to hide it. She stared at his serene expression and realized the only other time that she'd seen him so at peace was when he played his music. Yes, she'd snuck over to the cafe one night to watch him sing.

Even though she had expressed less than amicable feelings about it, she'd been curious. And what she'd seen had helped her understand him a little more.

He was everything that he'd tried to hide from them those first four years. He wasn't stoic; he had a sense of humor that was sarcastic and had more wit than she'd ever known anyone to have...it was intellectual and refreshing. He wasn't tweed; he was comfortable jeans and warm sweaters that made you ache to touch them, just to see if they were as soft as they looked. He wasn't emotionless; he was heated debates and intense moments filled with an obsessing passion for books that she loved.

Giles wasn't old; he was aged in wisdom, with a young spirit trapped in a mortal frame made to harness the magical energies within him that yearned to be free.

Everything about him eventually all came down to her...one girl in all the world. And here he was, a fired Watcher still doing his duty, unable to leave her side for reasons that she did not know. Why had he stayed?

Buffy knew that she'd done more than enough to chase him away from her, had hurt him too many times to imagine...but he stayed.

She felt a swelling in her heart towards him, one that she didn't quite understand. As she thought about it, tried to place the feeling, she realized what it was...and instead of being shocked, she instead felt like an idiot for never recognizing the signs of it before. How had she ignored this?

Giles felt her shifting in his arms, so he sat back, giving her room to sit up.

She pulled back, but instead of standing up and leaving, as he expected her to do, she re-situated herself so that she faced him, her knees on either side of his one leg folded up under him on the couch.

Her hand reached out towards his face and he had to hold back a shiver as her fingers traced his jaw line in an almost loving manner.

She began to lean forward, slowly drawing his face towards her own, but he pulled back slightly, bewildered by her actions, trying to understand what she was doing. "Buffy...what are you doing?"

She smiled. "I'm kissing you..."

And with that, she drew him the rest of the way to her and softly placed her lips on his. At first, she was worried as she didn't feel him respond, but as she began to pull back to apologize she felt his right hand insinuate itself into her hair and pull her back to his lips, where he then responded ardently.

Breaths were exchanged as tongues tentatively met and then entwined, tasting the other person and trying to memorize the feel of them.

Her hands slid to his shoulders, and slowly around his neck, as she lost herself in him.

He could barely believe what was happening, but it was, and he knew that she knew her own mind and that if this was what she wanted, he would gladly give it to her.

She arched her body into him, rising to her knees, and he groaned into her mouth as his tongue tasted her and reveled in her heat. Every stroke sent electricity running through his frame, desperate for an outlet, only to flow straight back into her, fueling the fire that was slowly building between them.

She was completely absorbed by him and loving every moment.

His lips were soft and warm, but his tongue was causing her body to have other ideas...ideas that led to beds and tangled sheets.

She gave up on thinking and instead focused on his taste, which was something that she'd felt she had always known...as if it were the most familiar thing to her in the world.

Buffy had been worried at first about kissing him, afraid that it might feel...not quite right. But as it continued on, she wondered why she'd never done it before. It felt like one of the most natural things in the world to her to do, as though she'd never kissed anyone else. He was where she belonged. She was home.

The kiss seemed to continue on for forever. Every time it felt as though it were about to die down, he started it back up again, stoking both of their fires with a single touch.

Their hands were also enjoying the time.

She had one hand tangled in the soft hairs at the base of his neck, while the other one gripped his shoulder tightly, kneading the muscle beneath the soft fabric.

Giles' hands, too, were active participants, and were straying into territory that he wished that he had marked a long time ago. His left hand was at her waist, caressing the skin beneath her shirt, reveling in the feel of her muscles clenching and releasing under his hand, knowing that he was the cause of her reaction.

The other one was in her hair, holding her tightly to him, never wanting to let her loose.

He was afraid that if he let her go, it would turn out to be a dream and that he would wake up alone in his bed. Or, even worse, that she had suddenly changed her mind and wanted nothing to do with him anymore.

She lowered her body from its kneeling position, so instead she sat on his leg. He could feel her heat through the material and he felt his hand begin to move of its own accord, his thumb sweeping down to the edge of her jeans, wanting to mark the territory below.

He physically held himself back, sliding his hand back over the smooth fabric of her shirt, not wanting to push her any further. She had started this, she would be the one to set the pace...he would give her the reins willingly. This was her doing, and he knew that he would hate himself if he took unfair advantage of her.

Their mouths finally drew apart, and soft sighs escaped both of them as they relinquished the other person's lips. They let their foreheads touch, resting against one another.

He collected himself, slid his other hand down to her waist to join his other hand, and then finally spoke. "Buffy...I need to know something." He saw her give a small nod. "Why did you kiss me?"

She looked up at him, pulling back slightly so that she could see his eyes, but he kept his head down.

She slid her hand forward, repeating the gesture that she had done a few minutes earlier that had started everything. Her fingers on his face once more caused him to lift his head, and their eyes captured each other. The look on her face was indiscernible, and he wondered what was going on inside her head.

"Giles..." she whispered, trying to make him understand, but then she corrected herself. "Rupert...I kissed you because I love you."

She saw him about to protest, so she placed her finger gently across his lips, shushing him.

"I don't want to hear it. I do love you...and you want to know how I know?" He nodded, and she could tell that he still had some apprehensions, so she quickly assuaged his fears.

She started slowly, trying to explain everything that had happened in a mater of minutes. "Gi-Rupert," she corrected herself once more. "As you held me, I wondered for a moment why I hadn't gone to Riley...and I realized that it was because of one simple reason: I don't love him. He holds onto me like a life raft, when I am the person that's floundering in the water, trying to survive..."

She watched his face, trying to make sure that he understood what she was saying.

"With you, I've always known that you're the person who understands that, and doesn't expect me to be anything but me..." She hesitated, trying to figure out how to explain everything else that had run through her head.

His eyes were searching, and she found herself drifting back to her thoughts from before, so she voiced them.

"I was just sitting there in your arms, and then I looked at you and I found...you. The _real_ you..." She lifted her hand and brushed a lock of hair from his face. "Not...not Giles the Watcher, or Giles the book-guy...but Rupert Giles. The man."

She saw that he was beginning to understand, but still didn't quite believe her.

She continued to explain. "Everything I've been through, everything that I've ever done...I guess I kinda realized that if I lost anyone else, eventually, I would heal, I would be able to live through it. But that if I lost you...I don't know what I'd do. I would be...lost. I don't think I could go on without you in my life...I don't think that I'd even want to."

He stared at her for a moment...and then he smiled.

The corners of his mouth quirked up, and she could feel something inside her begin to change. "Buffy...I love you."

Those words were all that needed to be said. Before either of them even knew what was happening, both of them had moved forward and were kissing once more...but this time, it was different.

There was passion, yes, but it was subdued by the sweet knowledge that they both knew that they loved the other person. Absolutely, completely, and irrevocably. She savored the feel of his lips brushing against hers, again and again, while he whispered against her lips the same three words over and over.

"I love you, I love you, I love you..."

She felt the tears begin to slide down her cheeks, but she didn't care. She was kissing the man that she loved as he whispered an endearment that would echo in her mind forever.

Who knew that this would be the night that she found the man that she wanted to be with for the rest of her life?

He held her in his arms with a light touch, the same as he caressed her with his lips. She was the woman that he felt that he didn't deserve...but she loved him. What more could he ask for? As he continued to brush the barest of kisses against her lips, he slowly tightened his hold on her, reassuring himself that she was real.

He finally pulled himself back, and found tears were running down her cheeks.

Giles reached up, and with gentle fingers he brushed the tears away, knowing that they were tears of joy. The expression of love in her eyes took his breath away. She seemed to be doing that a lot to him recently.

God, what on earth did he do to deserve this woman?

Buffy smiled a shaky smile, and then lifted her own fingers to his cheek. That was when he realized that he had been crying as well. She followed the trails of wetness down to his jaw, and then lovingly brushed them away. He leaned into her caress, and she let his jaw mold to her hand, relishing the intimate touch.

Their eyes connected and this time they both smiled.

* * *

**Part 1/3**


	2. I Rejoiced

**I Rejoiced**

* * *

Rupert Giles woke up to warm soft lips touching his own. He gladly reciprocated, and leaned into the kiss.

Soon, the lips pulled away, revealing a blonde haired goddess lying next to him in his bed. He smiled, and then turned his body towards her, reaching for her left hand with his own. As their hands touched, the early morning light that had filtered in through the window played across the two gold bands on their hands.

Buffy smiled, and then pulled herself in towards her husband's body, relishing his warmth in the cold winter morning.

Giles smiled as he felt her burrowing herself closer to him, so he pulled the covers tightly over them both, trying to keep the chill of England's countryside, just outside their window, from seeping into the warmth of their bed.

"Rupert..." He smiled, loving the sound of his name on her lips.

"Yes, love?" He waited a few moments as she collected her thoughts and shifted against him, and as he waited he thought of the past two years of marriage. It had been bliss so far. Yes, they'd had a few snags, but what marriage didn't? His thoughts drifted to Sunnydale, and he felt a sudden pain of nostalgia for the now non-existent town.

He still couldn't believe that they'd been able to wait for two and a half whole years before getting married.

During that time, he'd been ever the gentleman and courted her the way he felt that he should. There had been flowers, dates, romantic walks on the beach, and even a few safely guarded nightly strolls...but they had not been fully physical.

They had both felt that they should wait...that it was something that was meant to be cherished. It had been worth it; two and a half years of pent up sexual energy had given them an _amazing_ honeymoon...and it was still going.

Buffy turned her body so that her head was against her husband's chest, not wanting to meet his eye, unsure of how he would take the news that she was about to give him. She twisted her head so that she could hear his heartbeat...thump-thump, thump-thump, thump-thump. Its' steady cadence was reassuring to her own rapidly increasing heart-rate.

"Rupert..." she said, repeating herself from earlier. "Happy anniversary."

'Damn!' she berated herself inwardly for not telling him the news first, but he didn't seem to mind. At her words, he held her tighter and placed a loving kiss on the crown of her head.

"Yes...happy anniversary, indeed."

At that point, she couldn't take it anymore, and she had to say it, but before she could say anything, he had pulled from their embrace and reached over and pulled something from the side table drawer. She saw that it was brightly wrapped and she smiled. 'Ha, I've got a husband who _doesn't_ forget,' was what she thought as he handed it to her.

She gave him a sly look and slowly shook it, pretending to be disappointed when she heard no noise.

"What, don't you want me to try to guess?" she asked, putting her pouty lip into full force. He responded by leaning forward and sucking her lower lip between his teeth, making her gasp at the sudden erotic sensation.

"Don't do that, luv, unless you intend for us to never leave this bed..." She grinned, obviously not adverse to the idea, and he just shook his head. "Just open it."

She finally acquiesced and quickly unwrapped it...and gasped.

Giles smiled at her reaction. It was exactly what he'd hoped for. He watched as she turned it over in her hands, admiring it openly, and he just continued to watch her. She was a glory to watch, especially in the morning light. It seemed to suit her the most, with the way that the light made her look like a goddess that had fallen from heaven to bring comfort to a mere mortal such as himself.

Buffy lifted the necklace to her chest and admired the stone.

He knew that she loved emeralds...she had told him that they reminded her of his eyes. And now, looking at the green stone that lay set in the middle of an intricate, silver celtic design, her breath was taken away.

"May I?" was all that he asked. She nodded, and then turned so that he could secure it around her neck.

As he pulled his hands away, she relished in the feel of the cool metal against her breastbone...it felt as though that was where it belonged.

It was a comforting weight and she reached a hand up to gently caress the stone at its' center, amazed that he had given her such an amazing gift. She smiled and then turned to her husband, flipping her hair over her shoulder and giving him an inquisitive look with one perfectly arched eyebrow.

"I thought that you're not supposed to top the first year anniversary present...isn't it some sort of secret husband rule?"

He merely grinned. "No...I feel that the longer amount of time that I have with you, the better, so I should show my growing appreciation towards you by getting you better and better gifts every year..."

Her heart melted a little at that, and she leaned in and gave him a quick kiss, which soon became lingering.

He watched as she slowly pulled away and then leaned back into the pillows against the headboard of the hardwood bed. She truly did look like a goddess at that point, wearing nothing but the necklace and sunshine as her hair fanned out around her on the soft covers of the pillows.

He moved his body so that his head now rested on her stomach, and inhaled deeply.

Buffy smiled at the familiar sensation, and reached down with her hand to run her fingers through his already mussed hair. "Rupert..."

She felt the vibration against her skin as he replied. "Hmm?"

She sighed, trying to figure out how to say it, and soon found that the more she thought of a tactful way, the less ideas she could come up with. It seemed she was going to just have to say it. "Well, you know how you were saying that you're going to get me better gifts each year?" She felt him nod, and then she sighed again.

"Well...that might be kind of hard for me to do, cause this year's gonna be hard to top."

He lifted his head from its resting place and propped himself up on one arm, looking her in the eyes, seemingly worried. "What do you mean, luv?"

Buffy gave a half-smile. "Well, you see...I'm pregnant."

Her husband was now doing a perfect impression of a codfish, complete with gasping sounds. "Wh-wh-what? Y-y-you're p-p-preg..." His voice drifted and she couldn't stop the giggle that escaped her at her husband's reaction. She had no idea that it was possible to reduce him back to the bumbling fool he had been when she'd first met him, but now she knew how.

She repeated herself. "I'm pregnant."

A huge smile stretched across his face, and he was soon in the position that he was before only moments earlier, but this time his hand touched her stomach as well, lovingly caressing it.

"This is marvelous...the best gift that I could ever receive." He looked up at her as he placed a loving kiss on her abdomen.

"You're right...this will be hard to top."

Buffy reached for his hand, and he grasped it firmly, placing a kiss on her fingers before bringing it back down with his to its previous resting place. She watched with a smile, filled with an overwhelming joy that she would be seeing his face every morning for years to come, and that she finally had what she always wanted.

"How 'bout that, Rupert...you're gonna be a daddy."

A soft smile appeared on his face as he ran his hand over her stomach along with her own, finally resting them in one place. "How far along are you?"

She reached her other hand down to continue to tousle his hair as she replied. "About five weeks."

That was when it hit him. He was going to be a father...and not just any father, but the father of Buffy's children. Buffy was finally getting her chance to be a mother, something that he felt that she would be wonderful at. And it was something that she truly deserved; something that they both deserved.

He laid his hand next to where his head rested, finding joy in the fact that they were having a child.

With a loving kiss, he spoke to his unborn child.

"Hello, little one..."

* * *

**Part 2/3**


	3. EPILOGUE

_**EPILOGUE**_

* * *

Buffy rocked little Alexander William Giles to sleep, moving back and forth gently, relishing the feel of his soft, warm body against her shoulder.

She glanced around the room, looking at the warm wooden furniture. Xander had made all of it for them. She would never say it out loud, but he was absolutely amazing when it came to carpentry, and he had mindfully rounded all of the corners of every piece that had made, keeping in mind that it was for her and Giles' baby.

She walked over to the rocking chair and sat down, slowly beginning to move it back and forth with just the slight nudging of her foot against the floor.

As she stared at the soft sage colored walls, her mind drifted.

And then her eye caught on the picture that they had placed in Alex's room, first thing. Their wedding photo.

She still had the dress in her closet, and she smiled, thinking about the wedding. It had been beautiful, simple, elegant...and so much more. Of course, she wouldn't have cared if they'd been married in a landfill with her and Giles wearing nothing but paper bags, she still would have been just as happy simply because she was getting married.

At that humorous thought, she flashed back to when the rest of the group had found out that her and Giles were a couple. It had most definitely been something to remember...

* * *

_**A few years earlier...**_

"So, boss...when are you going to start listening to me about stocking real eye of newt instead of salamander? You do realize that they're ripping you off, right?"

Giles ignored her, instead trying to focus on the spreadsheet in front of him, but failing miserably as his thoughts kept on drifting to the night before and his date with Buffy.

Anya noticed his inattentiveness to her, and soon huffed away, muttering under her breath about under-appreciative british store-owners.

At that point, he heard the tingling of the bell and he glanced up, expecting to see a customer, but was pleasantly surprised when he saw his golden-haired beauty strolling in through the front door, a thousand-watt smile on her face. He couldn't keep a small smile from his lips at seeing her.

"Hello, Buffy...how are you?"

She continued to smile and made her way over to him, placing a hand on his arm.

"Never better. I just passed my British Literature final, my _last_ final, with flying colors, and now the summer has officially started! Today I am certainly a happy Buffy."

His smile stretched into a humorous grin, and he motioned his head towards the back room.

"In that case, you wouldn't mind if we had a spot of training? Seeing that you're in such a good mood, you just might put it to good use." She gave him a mock scowl, and her visage darkened slightly. "Are you serious? C'mon...how about buying me ice-cream, or giving me a few nights off, or-"

She was cut off. "Or giving you a new weapon?"

At that, she perked up. "Really? Wait, you mean it, right? You're not just joking around or something, trying to see how I'll react? Because with you, and your British-ness, it can be hard to tell..."

Giles gently smiled. "I mean it."

At that, she looked as though she might kiss him right then and there, but the sound of the cash register opening reminded her that they were not alone. Well, she'd just have to wait until they were alone...very, very alone. With a grin, she made her way to the back room.

"Anya, could you please watch the store for a few minutes?"

She gave a disgusted sigh. "Yeah, sure boss." As soon as he was out of hearing she continued, muttering sarcastically under her breath, "It's not like I work for you, or anything."

He had barely closed the door behind them, when she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down for a kiss.

All protests were soon lost as he found himself practically drowning in her affections and her "thanks". After a few long moments, she finally, reluctantly, pulled away.

"Thank you, lover."

It took him a few moments to recover, but as soon as he did he made his way over to the weapons chest and pulled out a long object protected by a thick, soft black cloth. He handed it to her.

"Here it is...I hope that you enjoy it."

She merely smiled and gently took it from his hands, slowly revealing what lay beneath the fabric. The glint of metal was expected, but the length was not. She gasped, and then lovingly pulled out the sword that lay nestled in the fabric's depths, gazing at it with utter rapture.

He watched as she moved towards the center of the room, swinging it a few times, listening to the sweet ringing it made as it cut through the air.

"My god...Rupert, this is amazing." She reached out her arm, sword in hand. "And it has perfect balance."

He continued to watch her as she swung it around a few more times, vanquishing invisible foes, watching as she created poetry with her movements.

"It feels..." She paused, trying to voice the feeling properly. "It feels as though it were made for me, a _part_ of me..."

That was when he decided to tell her what he'd done. Giles had a feeling that she would appreciate what he'd gone through to get it for her. "Well, love...that's because it _was_ made for you...and it _is_ a part of you." Buffy looked up at him in surprise, trying to understand.

"What...what exactly do you mean, Rupert?"

He ducked his head, and then looked back up at her. "I had it custom made, and I also had a spell put on it."

He saw her apprehension at his words so he explained it to her. "The spell imbues the sword with the essence of the first person that touches it once it's been made. You are the first person to do so."

She looked at him in shock, and then a look of utter adoration appeared on her features.

She placed the sword gently back into the material, and then rushed towards him, leaping onto him, wrapping her legs around his waist.

He let himself fall under her attack as she began to kiss him. They were soon lost to their kisses, completely unaware of anything other than them, which meant that neither of them heard the sound of the door to the training room being opened as Anya walked in and retrieved one of the old invoices.

She glanced at them, shrugged, and then walked back out, closing the door behind her.

When they both came up for air, they smiled at one another. Giles grinned. "I should get you new weapons more often."

Buffy smiled. "Maybe you should..."

With that, he let her down and they began to actually train, Giles showing her how to use the sword with her Slayer abilities.

By the time they were finished, both of them were sweaty and tired. They quickly took turns changing in the small bathroom in the back, and then walked back into the store.

At that point, Buffy saw that the rest of the gang had arrived. "Willow, Xander, hey...when did you show up?"

They glanced up from the books they were poring through. Willow was the one to answer. "About ten minutes ago. My class let out early and I ran into Xander on the way here." Buffy looked at Xander, waiting for an explanation, knowing that he usually worked until two.

He shrugged. "My boss was out sick, so I didn't actually have to go to work today, but I did a few hours this morning anyway and then left."

Buffy nodded, satisfied with their answers. She went and sat next to them as Giles began to pore over spreadsheets once more.

After a minute, he looked up.

"Anya...when did you put last month's invoices on my desk? Thank you for getting them for me, but when did you get them?"

Anya looked up from the amulets that she was pricing, and then said in a casual tone, "Oh, I got them from the back about forty minutes ago...you didn't notice me because you were too busy making out with Buffy."

You could have heard a pin drop, the room was so silent.

Xander was the first to react. "Yes! That means I win the betting pool!"

At that, Willow groaned, reaching for her wallet and pulling out several bills, muttering under her breath as she did so. "This is _so_ not fair...I mean, I was off by more than two months! I know I wasn't going to win two months ago, but really, why was it you? Why couldn't it have been Tara who won? At least she would have gotten me something with the money..."

Buffy and Giles were still both frozen in shock, but at that comment, Buffy finally managed to speak.

"Actually...we've been together for two months."

At that statement, Xander went silent with shock, and Willow voiced her relief. "Thank goddess! I've been trying to save up for some new spell-books, and now with the money I win, I should be able to afford it."

Xander reached for his own wallet, slightly upset at the turn of events, but gave the red-head the money anyway.

Anya watched with amusement and then spoke up. "I'll give you your money Willow when I get my paycheck." She then continued to do what she'd been doing previously, pricing the newest items that had come in.

Giles managed to clear his throat, but only two words came out.

"Betting pool?"

* * *

**Part 3/3**

**THE END**


End file.
